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About

The term "Derivative" is sometimes difficult to explain and conceptualize. The overseas often call such characters "fan mades" or "fan made characters", but refer to them as different characters in their own right. However, in the Japanese fandom, the character is often considered a variation of the original (for example, perceiving Yowane Haku as Hatsune Miku with a bad singing voice). Therefore there is often disparity between fandoms as to how 'Derivatives' are treated.

This also means official derivatives like "Racing Miku" or "Snow Miku" can also be considered a variation of Hatsune Miku and at the same time not Hatsune Miku herself. This way, derivative versions of a character can exist side by side in any promotional media base medium with the original character as two different entities to each other, rather than just alternate outfits.

Crypton Future Media is the most known out of the studios for adopting official derivatives into their merchandise. Derivatives are therefore welcome and often developed as a person's interpretation of the Vocaloid they are working with. Many are used by Producers as a form of self-promotion and are taken into account for the number of such designs and appearances in Vocaloid media. If the song is used officially by Crypton Future Media, the Producer's derivative design is also used in the song alongside it. Crypton Future Media consider them a form of Producer creativity and have adopted the most famous ones into their official character promotions.

However, the sheer number of derivatives that have been produced, particularly in the early 2007-2009 period, have resulted in common generic Vocaloid design traits being acknowledged.

About other types

Rin no Youchuu is a derivative of Kagamine Rin created by Pixiv user Mossan. The character is a Rin head with legs, similar to Shiteyan'yo. Larval Rin seems to have been conceptualized as some sort of pre-evolution or a previous stage of growth development for Rin. The character become a popular meme in Pixiv, known for being original and disturbing and receiving numerous fanarts and parodies.

Calne Ca is viewed as a derivative of Vocaloid Hatsune Miku, she was created by the 3D animator Deino. Her name comes from kara (骸) and ne (音), as well as CA (シーエ), the chemical symbol of calcium. This is due to Calne Ca being a mechanized skeleton with a skin or casing shaped like Miku. Her right hand is in the shape of a scythe, and is practical for large sweeping motions. However, her limbs can be freely changed so when she wants to do detailed work, it can be exchanged for a normal arm. The character became pretty popular on Pixiv.

Shiteyan'yo is another derivative of Hatsune Miku created by the Pixiv user リューセイ (Ryūsei), also known as puzzle157xxx. The character is Miku's head with legs as twintails. Shiteyan'yo was born from comparing Miku's twintails to legs (in a similar way to how Tako Luka was conceptualized). The character became a popular meme on Pixiv for similar reasons to Larval Rin, receiving numerous fanarts and parodies.

To the fandom derivatives that appear to be 'funny looking characters', are usually called Mascots of the Vocaloid they're derived from. Both of the mentioned are seen in the PSP game, Hatsune Miku ~Project Diva~ as available background skins, the sequels feature them as accessories.